So you just held an awesome fall kickoff that totally blew the doors off any and all expectations. You had tons of new students show up, your core teens stepped up and took on leadership rolls, and you have a new buzz surrounding your ministry. The question you should be answering is, “Now What?”

If you don’t know the answer to that question, you’re in trouble. You have wasted any momentum you could have gained from your kickoff. You’ve shown people you don’t have a plan other than having flashy events. In essence, you’re inviting people to events, not to join a movement of God to make a difference.

So, to help you answer the “Now What?” question…

1. Have a Bigger Vision

Hopefully you have a vision for your ministry. How does what you just did with the kickoff tie in to the bigger picture of your ministry? Was this about having a big event or creating a jumping off point for your vision? Even if you started out with less than noble intentions, you can turn it around. If your event is still to come, you can start to put in touchpoints that lead in to your vision. You can start tying in what your doing to what you want to achieve. If you’ve already has it, its a little tougher but start to look for ways that God was moving in spite of your less than ideal focus. Start to weave those God-stories into the bigger picture.

2. Have a Next Step

You need to have a next step. Whats the ogical conclusion of your fall kickoff? What this is kind of depends on what type of kickoff you had. Was it more evangelsim based or discipleship based? Was it about building community with existing students or creating a welcoming environment for new ones? The next step will be the result you want to see. Again, if you didn’t have a purpose other than a big event, you’ll have to judge the results to see where God might be leading and catch on that wave (and that might be a good idea whether you had a plan, too…)

3. Invite Visitors to Take Part

If you had even one visitor, one person who doesn’t know Christ come to your event, your event was a success because you have the opportunity to reach this individual. You now have a connection, a relationship. Now, how will you grow this relationship? Don’t just spam them with emails or letters, look for ways to build this new relationship. Pray for them, invite them to join you in your ministry.

4. Push Students to Go Deeper

One reason I love college sports is that each year, after the “big stars” have graduated or been drafted, a new class steps up and fills the void. You have that same thing in ministry, as your leaders graduate and new students can step up to take bigger roles. As you start to clean up from the fall kickoff, look to see who was naturally stepping up and find ways to push them to go deeper. Also look for students who you expected to step up but didn’t or were MIA. Challenge them and find ways to get them involved. Have a plan for how to grow them in their faith, not just to get them to attend more.

These are just some of the things you can do to help keep the momentum going. Keep pushing in the direction of your ministry vision. Lead people into a God Sized mission and you’ll see amazing things happen. What do you do when you’re asked, “What Now?”

Bill Nance is a 15 year veteran of youth ministry, having served in churches across the midwest. He currently works at a non-profit organization that works with churches and other agencies that serve hungry people. He also spends time writing, training, and speaking to help youth ministries across the country. If you are looking for a talented speaker for your next youth ministry event, consider booking him today!